Chances and Changes
by Minuit-the-Cat
Summary: Splendid's parents adopt Toothy, but Splendid does not like. After a while, he and Toothy become close and inseparable, but when Splendid obtains his powers, his parents try everything in their power to separate them. Pre-Happy Tree Town, AU, R&R please!
1. New Family Member!

A/N: This idea came to me in a dream... And... I just thought it was an awesome concept... I don't think ANYONE has done a HTF story like this one before... And this one has ABSOLUTELY NO connection to ANY of my other stories!

Disclaimer: I do not own HTF. HTF belongs to Mondo Media. I only own the story, plotline, and a few random characters you people have probably never heard of before!

* * *

"Honey, look at that poor child looking out the orphanage window," a blue female squirrel said, looking over towards the orphanage where she saw a small beaver staring sadly out into the rain.

"Yes, indeed, Dear, it is quite a sad looking child, isn't it?" her husband, also a blue squirrel, stated, also looking from where he and his wife stood under their umbrellas. "But what can we do? The child's happiness is not our problem."

His wife looked at him, then said, "Dear, you know we could always adopt the child... Splendid needs to have someone to spend the day with, instead of simply staying at home and doing domestic chores."

Her husband pondered this for a few moments, then agreed. They then began making their way over to the orphanage across the street.

* * *

Splendid was laying boredly on his bed, waiting for his parents to come come. He'd just returned from his first day of third grade, and he hated it, just like he hated every other grade so far. Most people thought him to be a freak due to the fact he saw things in a much more mature manner, and he was only seven years old in third grade. Everyone else was either eight or nine...

Splendid heard the door open and close, then heard his father call to him to come. Splendid jumped up, then went into the kitchen to greet his parents. He noticed another child with them, a purple beaver, who seemed to be younger than him by maybe a year or two. Splendid didn't know what to think of this, so he looked up at his parents in confusion.

"Splendid, dear, this is Toothy. We saw him in the local orphanage and he seemed depressed, so we'd decided to bring him home with us," his mother said kindly. Both his parents were expecting Splendid to be resentful of Toothy, if only for a little while, but they were hoping SPlendid would warm up to the idea of having an adopted brother.

Splendid looked at Toothy with a blank expression. Toothy noticed this, and waved slightly. Toothy himself had been surprised about being adopted and he, too, didn't know what to think about Splendid.

"Now you two boys talk while we head out to our business dinner. Splendid, if you have any homework, do it. We'll be taking Toothy to school tomorrow to be enrolled in the academy. He'll be in second grade, only one grade below you," his father said, opening the door for his wife. "The cook will make your dinners."

When they were alone, Splendid scowled. He turned back to the beaver, who had decided to hide behind the counter. Splendid figured Toothy had sensed his hostility. That was fine with him.

"I don't get it, why'd they adopt you? You're a beaver!" Toothy continued hiding behind the counter. He was afraid, though he'd never admit it. He was terribly afraid of the older boy.

* * *

"Mother, does he have to be enrolled in the same school I'm in?"

"Of course, Dear. You'll only see him during recess, don't worry, he won't embarrass you."

Splendid was silent as they drove to the school. Toothy hadn't made one sound since coming to their home, and Splendid was perfectly fine with that. When they reached the school, Splendid jumped out and ran down the cement path to the hall his class was on. Toothy got out of the car hesitantly and went with his adopted parents into the office, where they had to fill out paperwork.

Toothy was hesitant to give his age and date of birth, but he told them after a few moments.

Toothy was then led to his class by one of the office officials; His new parents were to busy to take him themselves.

* * *

It was recess, and the playground was big enough for everyone in grades 2-3 to come out on the playground. The first graders had a separate playground altogether, as did the pre-schoolers and kinder-gardeners. 4-5 used the same playground as the 2 and 3 graders, but there was no recess above fifth grade.

Being in a private academy, their school had all fourteen grades, from pre-school to twelfth.

Splendid was sitting on a bench out on the playground, kicking at the dirt with his foot. He heard someone start speaking from a little distance off and glanced up to see what was going on.

Toothy was sprawled on the ground, fear written all over his face. One of the third graders who had been held back from fourth the year before was standing over him with his cronies, laughing at him for being the out-of-place newbie.

Splendid thought about letting the should-be fourth grader beating Toothy up like he did to every new kid at school, but knew his parents would be angry if he let it happen, so he got up and walked over there. He knew the boy, Statix, and had actually once been pretty good friends with him, but simply refused to join his crew of bullies, and his refusal ended their friendship.

"Hey, Statix, leave the kid alone," Splendid called. Toothy glanced over at him, then back at Statix. Upon seeing Statix and his cronies turn their attention to Splendid, he quickly got to his feet and ran off and hid behind a tree.

"Oh, Hey Splendid, why should I? He's new meat, an-wait, where'd he go?"

Splendid rolled his eyes, saying, "Statix, he's the new kid, yes, but just give him the cold shoulder like I do."

Statix turned back to Splendid, confused. "You know him?"

"Yea, his name's Toothy, and yesterday my parents adopted him from an orphanage," Splendid stated, suddenly looking very angry and miffed. Splendid didn't know why he was resentful of Toothy, but Statix could immediately tell why, and he smirked, deciding to play off of that anger.

"Aww, Splendid, is your mommy and daddy replacing you? And with a beaver, of all creature?"

Splendid glared at Statix, but he realized that was exactly how he felt; he felt like he was being replaced.

"Shut up, my parents are not replacing me," Splendid growled. "Now just leave before you do something stupid to get yourself suspended or expelled."

Before Statix could say anything, a teacher came up to them telling them that they had five minutes until recess was over.

Statix grinned as the teacher left. He said, "Ah don't worry, we'll get the new meat tomorrow. Right now we got bigger fish to fry."

With that, the group of bullies all ran off.

Splendid turned to look at the tree, where he knew Toothy was hiding. He went over to it and looked behind it and saw Toothy sitting on the ground, arms around his knees. He had his chin on his arms, staring ahead.

Splendid was silent for a moment before saying, "Come on, recess is almost over. Go ahead and go to your teacher." Splendid turned and began walking away.

"W-wait!" Splendid paused. It was the first time Toothy had said anything. He looked over his shoulder and saw Toothy watching him, still half hidden behind the tree.

"What?"

Toothy was silent for a moment. "T-thank you..."

Splendid was surprised for a moment, but quickly pushed his surprised feeling away. "I didn't do it for you."

"I know," was the simple reply.

Splendid and Toothy watched each other for a few moments. Splendid started to say something, but then one of the teachers blew a whistle, signalling the end of recess. Splendid glanced at the teacher, then looked back at Toothy.

"Whatever," he said, though that wasn't what he was originally going to say. He then begn running towards his teacher.

Toothy watched him leave before starting to follow the other students to his own teacher. He tried his best to stay secluded and away from the others, but someone managed to run into him every few moments.

* * *

Toothy was sitting in the room he had to share with his "brother". Splendid's parents seemed to believe that if they shared a room, they would bond better. Toothy, on the other hand, didn't think this was true. It had been two whole months since they adopted him. He'd taken to writing in a little journal he got from school to write in whenever something was bothering him. It had been given to him by the school counselor, who told him no one but his family was to know about it.

Toothy knew the counselor thought he was depressed, but he wasn't; he was afraid. Sure, his new home wasn't like the orphanage at all, he was treated a lot better, but Splendid scared him sometimes. He kept sending mixed messages of contempt and concern...

Toothy wrote a lot about the orphanage in his little journal. He wrote about how the bullies treated him, how even the officials didn't care about what happened to him. He never knew why they did all that to him, but he was always wanting to know. He told his adopted parents, but refrained from telling Splendid. Splendid wouldn't care anyway, he didn't even like Toothy...

And speaking of Splendid, he walked through the door at that moment. Toothy quickly shut his little journal and shoved it under his pillow, but he wasn't quick enough; Splendid saw this action.

Splendid looked suspiciously at Toothy, who watched him right back, slightly nervous as to what the older boy would do. Splendid came closer, eying the pillow where Toothy had shoved the journal. He looked at Toothy again, who seemed to be trying to block the pillow from Splendid's suspicious eyes.

"What... are you hiding?" Splendid asked finally, his curiosity getting the best of him.

Toothy glanced towards the pillow, then back at Splendid. "Nothing..."

"You're lying."

"No I'm not."

"Yes, yes you are!" Splendid suddenly tackled Toothy, and easily got the journal out from under the pillow, despite Toothy's desperate pleads to just leave him alone.

Splendid sat up and looked curiously at the journal. "What's this?"

Toothy glared slightly at him. "It's a journal."

Splendid rolled his eyes. "Yea, I see that. What's it for and where'd you get it? Mother and Father didn't buy you this, I was there when they bought your school supplies."

Toothy glanced to the side. "The school counselor gave it to me... he seems to think I was depressed or upset or something... it's to write in when I'm sad or something..."

Splendid eyed the notebook, suddenly interested. It meant he could find out more about the beaver he had to share a room with. "Oh? Is that so?"

"NO! You cannot read it!" Toothy suddenly exclaimed, as though he read Splendid's mind. Splendid rolled his eyes and dropped the journal on the ground.

"As if I'd want to. Now go to bed, I'm tired and I don't want to go to school tired tomorrow."

Splendid then went over to his own bed, glancing over his shoulder as Toothy picked up the journal, looking extremely upset. Splendid then snuggled under his covers while Toothy turned his bedside lamp off. Splendid couldn't see in the dark, but his keen sense of hearing let him know where Toothy hid the journal. He waited a few hours, listening for Toothy to fall asleep. When at last he was sure Toothy was sleeping, he got up and went over to where he heard Toothy hide the journal. By then his eyes were adjusted to the dark and he could see.

Splendid had never needed as much sleep as other kids his age, something neither Toothy nor his parents knew. He grabbed Toothy's journal, just too curious to ignore it. He slipped out into the hallway and walked over to the bathroom. He turned on the light and locked the door, then sat down on the side of the bathtub. He opened the journal to the first page and began reading it.

_Umm... this is stupid... but I gues it wil help me a litle... I dont understand why that counsoler thinks he nos wat hes doing. Im not deprest or anything like that. No, Im not deprest, Im just scared. I dont belong here, no one wants me here, just like at the orphnage. I dont even remember why I was in the orphnage... I dont no wat hapend to my own mom and dad... somthing obout a fire tho, I remember... the fire, the police, being taken away... I dont understand... but I gues Im just not ment to understand. Everybody at the orphnage told me mom and dad wood come bak for me, but they never did... do they not like me anymor? Do the parents I live with now like me mor than my own mom and dad? I dont understand... but oh well... I gues I wil stop riting for tuday..._

Splendid paused. Toothy didn't realize his parents were dead! Toothy didn't realize his parents weren't ever going to come back for him... And he didn't realize that he was legally a member of Splendid's family, that he was in the orphanage because he had no other who was willing to take him in.

Splendid pondered whether he should read the next entry or not. Then he turned the page, curious to see what else Toothy had to say.

_The bruses ar almost gon, at leest. The bruses wher peple in the orphnage hit me. It took a few weeks, but theyr almost gon... But it dosnt change the fact Im stil afraid..._

_My teacher tels me I need 'tootouring', whatever that meens... she says my speling is horid... Im only six, why shood my speling not be bad? Besides, she only tels me wat I do rong, never how to fix it... I would ask for help, but Im afrayd of being laffed at. Everyone in this famly is so smart, but me? No, I cant even use the simple rools of speling..._

Splendid read that again. Toothy thought he was inferior? Truthfully, Splendid himself had spelling problems, but not as bad as Toothy, and Splendid knew his parents would believe Toothy was inferior for that simple fact... He turned the page, not wanting to read the rest of that page.

The next page made him really regret taking the journal... and treating him the way he did.

_I hate it here! The adults are never here, theres nothing to do, Splendid is either ignoring or insulting me, Im not aloud to go anywere without an adult-THEYR NEVER HERE THO-, my teacher blames me for everything, even when theres proof Butch did it, she always fails me even when Im rite, those bullies always mess with me at school, and it feels just like the orphnage, just without the beatings! What do I do to make everyone hate me? I dont ever talk to anyone without them aproching or asking me a question first! What am I suposed to do here?_

_Then again, I guess it is better than the orphnage... theres no unjust beatings, no being sent to my room for no reason, no going throu the day without food... But no, everyone here hates me still. I dont understand why I was adopted... I have a family somewere... rite? Do I? Or ar they gon, do they hate me like everyone else? I just want to run away, but I cant... theyd find me too easily, and I wood be sent back to the orphnage... but... maybe thats just were I belong..._

Splendid didn't read the rest of it. He simply closed it and stared ahead, thinking hat maybe he should have been nicer to Toothy.

He went back to his and Toothy's bedroom, replaced the journal where he had fund it, then went back to his bed.

* * *

"Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up..."

Toothy opened his eyes and saw Splendid leaning over his bed, looking oddly concerned. Toothy nearly jumped out of his bed.

"W-what are you doing that for?" he demanded. He noticed his throat began hurting the moment he spoke.

"You don't look so well," Splendid stated, watching him. Splendid had realized soon after waking up that Toothy was sick. He looked really pale...

Splendid suddenly put his hand to Toothy's forehead. "You're burning up!" Suddenly Splendid was out the bedroom door. Toothy was confused, but he couldn't wonder long; he suddenly went into a coughing fit.

Splendid came back in with his mother, who had been getting ready to leave for work. She took one look at Toothy before deciding he had to stay home.

"Splendid, how about you stay home, too, and keep him company? I'm sure he could use it."

Splendid hesitated for a moment, thinking about Toothy's journal and how he seemed to dislike Splendid, then he agreed to stay. Maybe he could fix the whole dislike thing...

During the day, Toothy slept and ate, and Splendid read while Toothy was sleeping. When Toothy finally awoke and wasn't tired enough to fall right back asleep, Splendid began talking to him.

He spoke of simple stuff at first, knowing Toothy didn't like him enough to tell him much, but throughout the day, that started to change

By the end of the day, the two of them were laughing together and talking about things that had happened to them in their lives. Splendid was sure not to ask about the orphanage or his parents. Maybe he would someday, but not that day...

..To..Be..Continued..

A/N: So, that was the first chapter, nice and long.. or so it looked in the document...! So what'd you think? The next chapter will go all the way up to until their teens, so it'll probably be even longer than this one. I apologize ^^ Review please to tell me what you think!

And by the way, I don't think this will be a SplendidxToothy story. If it does become one, it'd be many many chapters away, because this is more of a family/friendship story between the two. It MIGHT become romance, depending on what you all think... be sure to tell me in a review if you want it to be simply Family/friendship or friendship/romance or what!


	2. Birthday Surprises

A/N: Second chapter yay!

Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure I'm too young to work with the Mondo Media staff, so I don't own HTF ^^

* * *

Splendid quietly slipped out of bed and started tip-toeing over to Toothy's bed. It was Toothy's birthday, the first one he'd had since coming to live with Splendid's family. It had been just over seven months, and the end of the school-year was coming. The day Toothy had been sick, they had bonded and now it felt as though they were real brothers. They told each other almost everything now.

He approached Toothy's bed, then silently counted to three. On three, he suddenly launched himself onto the bed, startling Toothy awake.

"Gyah!" Toothy squealed, sitting up in bed and looking at Splendid, who had landed on him, but rolled off of him when Toothy woke up. He was laying beside Toothy on the bed, his head propped up on his elbow, smirking triumphantly.

"Told you I'd find an interesting way to wake you up today!" Splendid laughed. Toothy pushed him off his bed, also starting to laugh. Splendid got back up and sat on Toothy's bed. "You're so lucky today is Saturday, we don't have school nor church today."

Toothy smirked. Splendid's birthday had been a month and a half ago, and had been on a Wednesday, meaning they had both school AND church.

"If I remember correctly, at recess that girl Rose gave you a biiig kiss!" Toothy began laughing hysterically, remembering Splendid's bemused expression when Rose, a female pink squirrel, had kissed him full on the lips, something an eight year old wouldn't be used to.

Splendid went beat red, then exclaimed, "She wouldn't have known it was my birthday if you hadn't of shouted it out!"

Toothy suddenly fell off his bed, laughing. "You told me not to tell anyone it was your birthday, I just had to after you told me not to!"

Splendid looked over the edge and watched as his brother-his best friend- laughed. Then he himself grinned. "You're gonna kill yourself laughing, Toothy!"

Toothy sat up, still laughing, when their parents came in to see what the commotion was all about.

"Splendid, did you push Toothy off the bed again?"

"No, he fell off laughing, thinking about what happened on my birthday after he yelled out that it was my birthday at recess," Splendid responded, pulling Toothy back up on the bed, still grinning.

Toothy finally calmed down. "You should have seen his face!" He began laughing again. Splendid was tempted to push him off the bed, but knew better than to do that while his parents were in the room, so instead he gave Toothy a noogie. "AGH! Stoppit, you're messing up my fur!"

Splendid stopped and watched as the grinning beaver straightened up his fur. Then he turned back to his parents.

His mother was smiling and shaking her head. His father didn't look very approving, but he didn't say anything.

"We'll be downstairs, you two be down by 9:00," his father stated, taking his wife's hand and leading her out the bedroom door.

Toothy stretched, then looked at the clock. "It's only 6:25! Why'd you wake me up so early?"

"Revenge is sweet!" Splendid stated, grinning again. His excited mood was somewhat dampened by his father's disapproval, but he pushed away the sad feelings his father gave him sometimes. That day was about Toothy, not Splendid or his father.

Toothy scowled, but it was a good-natured fake scowl. He started laughing again. "Come on, we should probably get ready."

Splendid scoffed slightly. "We've got three and a half hours! Why go ahead and start getting ready?"

"So there's more time to do THIS!" Suddenly, Toothy tackled Splendid and the two started wrestling on the bed. It was playful wrestling where neither of them ever won. They both knew Splendid was the stronger of the two and could easily beat Toothy, but that would defeat the purpose of the game.

"Toothy, Splendid!" they heard Splendid's mother call. "Come down here real quick!"

Splendid and Toothy exchanged a glance, but then stood up and obeyed, going downstairs. They walked side-by-side, but Toothy, upon seeing why they were being called down, jumped backwards, almost as though wanting to go back to their room, but knowing better than to do that.

Splendid looked at their visitors, not knowing who they were. There were three strict adults standing with a group of children who looked about Toothy's age. Splendid looked at Toothy to see a terrified look on his face. Splendid looked back at the group, then pulled Toothy the rest of the way down.

"Mother, who are these people?"

"They're from the orphanage. The officials wanted to come see how Toothy was doing, and the children wish to say happy birthday.

Toothy hid behind Splendid. "I'm doing just fine, now make them leave," he muttered quietly so only Splendid could hear.

Splendid then realized just how much Toothy hated the orphanage and the people there.

"Mother, I don't think Toothy wants them here..." Splendid started.

"Splendid... They were wanting to talk to Toothy, just to ask him whether he likes it here or not," his mother stated. Splendid knew what that meant; they were wanting to know if Toothy wanted to come back to the orphanage.

Just five months ago, Toothy would have gladly left, and Splendid knew it, but now...

Toothy looked up at his adopted mother, a haunted look in his eyes. "I like it perfectly fine here, now please ask them to leave...?"

Splendid's father cut in, saying, "Nonsense, Toothy. These people used to be your family, it's only polite that they come celebrate your birthday with you."

Splendid could feel Toothy shaking his head desperately. He was the only one who knew...

Splendid saw the children grin wickedly.

One of the strict adults, a female, stated, "The children can stay if they like until 3:00, but we, the orphanage officials, have children back at the orphanage who need us there, ones that Toothy does not know."

The other two, another female and the other a male, nodded in agreement. They all watched as the three adults left.

"Well Splendid, Toothy, why don't you two show the others your room?"

Toothy and Splendid looked at each other, then at the mischievous children. Then they looked at their parents leaving the room, preparing for the celebration.

Toothy gulped and Splendid glanced back at him. Neither of them were excited anymore.

Toothy and Splendid led the way upstairs to their room, the group of five children following.

* * *

Toothy ran ahead and quickly hid his journal in a little safe he and Splendid shared. He quickly locked it again and went back out to see Splendid with the others. The five boys were saying things, Toothy could only guess what, and Splendid looked very, very, very annoyed. Splendid stopped in front of their room and they waited for the other five to realize they were at their room.

Toothy muttered to Splendid, "I don't want them in our room." Splendid nodded in agreement.

"Unfortunately, thanks the Father, we have no choice..."

"What are you two whispering about?" the meanest of the three boys demanded.

Splendid glared at him. "What, can I not talk quietly to my brother?"

The other five boys rolled their eyes. Splendid just barely heard one say under his breaths, "sissies..."

Splendid scowled, then went into his and Toothy's room, Toothy following behind.

"Did you hide it?" Splendid said so quietly, only Toothy could hear. Toothy nodded, then glanced at the safe. Splendid nodded in understanding.

Toothy's eyes widened suddenly and he shouted, "Don't touch that!" Splendid immediately looked in the direction Toothy was looking and saw one of the boys holding their family photo. His parents were each sitting in a chair with a book on their lap, looking up at the camera. Toothy and Splendid were sitting on the floor in front of their parents, laughing. Their heads were turned towards the camera, but they were looking at each other out of the corner of their eyes, a board game between them. Their grandfather had taken the photo. It had been taken at Christmas time.

The boy looked at Toothy, then smirked. "Oh, is this important to you?" Then he dropped it, the glass covering the picture shattering. "Oops." The other four boys began laughing. Well, they were until both Splendid and Toothy launched themselves at the boy.

Since moving in with Splendid's family, Toothy had become a little stronger than he used to be, and less afraid. The fact that he and Splendid tended to wrestle with each other every morning helped, too.

That was why they were all surprised. They used to be able to break Toothy's belongings and he'd just stand by, watching them, crying... he had never attacked any of them before, and now he had a friend to help him.

The other four boys then joined in, trying to help their leader. Then Splendid's father came up and opened the door, shouting for them to stop. All of them stopped, and he noticed that none of them had been playing around.

"What is going on here!" he demanded.

Toothy and Splendid jumped to their feet, shouting about hor the boy, Tyson, had deliberately broken one of their possessions, the other five jumping up and shouting how it had been an accident.

Much to Splendid and Toothy's dismay, he chose to believe the orphans.

..

Toothy and Splendid sat in their room, muttering about lowlife scoundrels. The other five boys had been told to come out of their room, and they were to stay in their room for the next hour as punishment for lying, even though they'd told the truth.

Splendid looked up at Toothy. "Don't worry, Toothy, we know what really happened, and that's all we need. Someday I'll be able to stop them without Dad interfering, I promise." Toothy smiled slightly and nodded in both agreement and understanding.

Silence fell between them as they both were in thought. Splendid murmured quietly to himself, "Someday I'll be able to keep those boys away from you without getting in trouble... Someday I'll be able to protect you..."

Toothy listened as Splendid told himself all this. He'd never realized just how much Splendid had cared before then.

Silence fell over them again. Splendid glanced over at Toothy. "Hey... Toothy, tell me... Why were you in the orphanage in the first place? And what did they do to you there, to make you so afraid of them?"

Toothy looked up at him, surprise written in his eyes, but then he looked back down. "Ah, I knew you'd ask eventually... Truthfully, I don't know why I was there. I remember being woken up in the middle of the night and follwing some guy in an orange suit out the window... remember my house was on fire. My parents weren't outside, no one could find where they were. The police asked for my parents' names and added them to the missing peoples list... no one's heard anything from them since the fire over a year ago... I was sent to the orphanage. People told me my parents would come for me eventually, but..."

"They never did..." Splendid finished his sentence for him. So there was a possible chance that Toothy's real parents were still alive.. meaning there was still a chance that Toothy would be taken away from Splendid and his family.

Splendid didn't like the thought of that.

"I'm not sure, but that may be the reason everyone treated me so badly in the orphanage. No one knows if I'm an orphan or not..."

Splendid remembered from the journal that Toothy didn't know what had happened. Someone must have filled him in on the gaps since then.

"How... what did they do to you?"

Toothy glanced at him, then answered "They hurt me... the kids there would bully me, break what was left of my posessions, make fun of me, beat me up, blame me for everything... the officials never did anything about it, though they knew what was going on."

"So you were being abused there? ... Well, now I know one place you're never going to again," Splendid stated dryly. He watched Toothy, who stared at the carpeted floor sadly.

Suddenly, the door opened and the five boys came in. "Your hour's up, we were told we could come back up.

Splendid glared at them, then stood up. "No, you will get out of this room and stay out. Haven't you already done enough pain to my brother?"

"You do know he's not really your brother, right?"

"Yes he is!"

"He's adopted!"

"I don't care, he's still my brother, and I don't want any of you hurting him anymore! Just go back to the orphanage and take your memories with you," he stated, scowling. Toothy stood up and watched Splendid. Sometimes he couldn't help but think Splendid was just like a super hero, always standing up for what he believed in.

The five boys stared angrily at Splendid. "We were his family first."

Splendid shook his head, scowling. "Family looks out for one another. Family doesn't hurt each other! You were in no way his family, ever!" Splendid grabbed Toothy's hand and pulled him out of the room. "Come on, Toothy, let's go downstairs; the air in our room has suddenly turned foul."

..

Later that day, at the orphanage, the five boys went up to one of the officials.

"Toothy told us he hates it there and wants to come back!" the leader lied.

"Yea, he says they're abusing him and then faking they care!" another joined in.

"And he misses everyone here!"

"They forbid him to have any friends!"

"Or fun!"

The official smiled, satisfied.

"If that is the case, boys, we will bring him back immediately.

..

There was a knock on the door a little after 4:00. Splendid and Toothy were happily playing in the living room, a board game between them, as usual when they were in the living room. There were too many breakable items to play rough.

Their parents went to go check it, and were surprised to see the women, who told them what the five boys said. When they all came into the living room, Splendid's dad looked enraged and his mother just looked heartbroken. When Splendid and Toothy saw the strict female, they looked absolutely horrified. Splendid jumped to his feet, exclaiming, "What is she doing here?"

"She's here to take Toothy back to the orphanage," his mother answered. Toothy's eyes widened and a horrified look entered his eyes.

"What? Why?"

"She says that is what Toothy wants."

Toothy jumped to his feet. "No I don't! I don't ever want to go back to that miserable place with those other children!"

"Oh really? Tyson and the other boys say otherwise."

"They lie!" Toothy hid himself behind Splendid, who looked pissed off. "I'm perfectly happy here, with Splendid and his parents!"

"I'm afraid you cannot stay here anymore, after reports of what they've been doing to you get out."

"W-what? They've been nothing but nice to me, what are you talking about?" Upon seeing that Toothy was genuinely confused, Splendid's parents were honestly angry.

"How dare you come in here and try to lie to us!" Splendid's father exclaimed angrily, staring at the Orphanage official. "We have done nothing but care for him as though he were our own child! Now leave at once, before you make yourself look even worse!"

"You'll hear from a lawyer," she stated flatly. "Seeing as there's five witnesses to the things he said."

Splendid scowled. "He was with me the whole time those cretins were here, and he said no such things!"

But the woman had already walked out of the house, not paying any attention to him.

..

That night, as they were getting ready for bed, Toothy asked, "Why do they want me back so much?"

Splendid shrugged. "Maybe your parents are looking for you with a reward for whoever takes you to them," he suggested.

"No, I'm pretty sure the government would have brought them here if that were the case... personally I think they just miss having a walking, talking punching bag..."

Splendid walked over to Toothy and put his hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Mother and Father won't let them take you away, ever. _I _won't let them take you." He smiled encouragingly at Toothy, who smiled slightly back.

Toothy crawled into his bed and lay down. Splendid sat down on the side of Toothy's bed and they talked for a little while, like they did every night.

"Splendid... what if they win?"

"What?" Splendid looked at Toothy, who looked afraid.

"What if they win? What if they somehow win and I'm sent back to the orphanage?"

"Don't worry about it, Toothy, it won't happen," Splendid stated. Toothy sat up and looked at him.

"How do you know it won't?" Splendid watched him for a few moments, thinking.

Then he replied, "Because I won't let it." He hugged Toothy, to comfort the worried boy.

Toothy soon fell asleep, and Splendid lay down beside him, watching him sleep. He was determined not to lose his brother to the lying idiots at the orphanage...

**10 Years Later**

Splendid awoke in his room, alone, as always. He stared at the ceiling, waiting to hear the sounds of everyone else waking up...

It was Toothy's 17th birthday, Splendid knew. Ten years since the first birthday together. Splendid jumped out of his bed. Weird things had been happening to him since he himself turned eighteen, things he'd only tell Toothy. He was afraid of how his parents would react.

He exited his room and quietly went down the hallway to the room he and Toothy used to share. He wuietly opened the door and entered.

He smiled as he saw the sleeping beaver. When Splendid had turned thirteen, his parents had separated their rooms, though sometimes they'd sneak into one another's room. They didn't really like being separated. They were both in college by then, and they had chosen the same college so they could stay together. It was a bright, sunny Tuesday, but neither of them had classes that day, much to Toothy's relief.

Splendid and Toothy still acted like children alot, but they acted mature when Splendid's parents were around. Splendid thought back to the morning ten years ago on Toothy's birthday, his father's disapproving look. His father would look nearly murderous if he caught them 'playing rough' nowadays, tell them they were too old.

Splendid couldn't tackle Toothy anymore, if they fell off the bed the sound would be loud enough to wake their parents up. He was also a lot stronger than he used to be, something that didn't seem to happen until after his 18 birthday.

He remembered the claims the orphanage made against his family, about abuse, and that Toothy wanted to go back to the orphanage, the lies they told in court. Toothy nearly cried when it all began, because he knew it was his fault all of it was happening, but they'd won the case, and Toothy got to stay with them.

Then there was the news they'd gotten three years afterward, when Toothy was 11, about his parents. They'd found them, and they were very much so alive, but were divorced with new spouses and children. Neither one of them seemed to care about Toothy anymore, and that upset Toothy even more than the thought of going back to the orphanage. Splendid remembered his arents telling him, only him, not Toothy, that Toothy's parents had been the ones to set the house on fire, in an attempt to rid themselves of Toothy, so they wouldn't have to deal with legal fees with child custody, child support, visitation rights, and all that. Toothy's parents had told Splendid's parents this, but no one ever told the government.

They also finally found out why the orphanage wanted Toothy back; it seemed as though they didn't like the thought that a child who wasn't even a real orphan should have such a nice family when the actual orphans had no one to take them in.

Splendid sat down on the side of Toothy's bed, like he did every year since he'd turned 13. Toothy was no longer ever surprised to wake up with Splendid staring intently at him. That's how it's been for the last five years.

Splendid starts poking Toothy's forehead gently, a grin forming on his face, watching the beaver wake up.

Toothy opened his eyes, the closed them with a groan. "Splendid, you're eighteen, can't you find a more eloquent way to wake someone up?"

"Hmm not on their birthday," he stated. "Now get your lazy butt out of bed! We're going to Riverside Walkway, remember?"

"Awwww but that's a three-hour drive," Toothy complained, but they'd been planning it for the past month, so he really had no choice. They were going to have breakfast with their parents, then Splendid would drive himself and Toothy up to Riverside Walkway, where they could walk along a river and watch boats and get lunch and all that good stuff, then around 8:00 they'd leave for home, stopping at quite a few places along the way, and wouldn't get home until 11:00 or 12:00.

Splendid tugged half-heartedly on Toothy's arm. "Come on, don't make me drag you out of bed," he threatened. Of course, it was an empty threat and they both knew it. Neither one of them would want to alert Splendid's parents of their childish behavior.

Toothy finally got up and went to get a shower. Splendid also went to get his own shower(in separate bathrooms, of course). Toothy finished his shower first and decided to flush the toilet. He listened and heard Splendid shout out as his water turned extremely hot. Toothy dried off and pulled his clothes on, then hurried into his bedroom. He had just barely gotten a comic book open when Splendid burst into the room, a white bath towel around his waste and soap in random places along his arms and chest where he'd been scrubbing himself.

"Toothy! What was that all about?"

Toothy tried to suppress his grin, but he failed miserably. "I don't know what you're talking about!" he claimed, but he had started laughing by then.

Splendid watched him, a bewildered-but-amused look on his face.

Toothy calmed down finally, then said, "Let's just call it revenge for waking me up so early."

..To..Be..Continued..

A/N: Personally, I think the whole Brotherlike relationship is cute ^^ Haha Toothy got Splendid good! Now, you're probably wondering why I made Toothy's backstory so sad... Simply so he could like his current life better! ^^ *doesn't have a real excuse*

This is officially the longest chapter I have ever written, over 4,000 words!

Review please?


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